Baby angel, little prince, noble young duke, and so on.
In truth, Leticia had heard all sorts of titles during her time in the theater. It came with the roles, after all.
But the nickname “baby” that she was called here had a peculiar way of making her feel awkward.

“Baby isn’t saying anything, so why are you acting like this, Chamuka?”
“The baby is just being mindful of Mother. Besides, isn’t it only natural to say that babies shouldn’t touch dirty things?”

It wasn’t just because she looked young that they called her “baby.” It seemed they genuinely thought of her as someone small and fragile, someone who needed protection.

Having grown up taking care of herself from an early age, without ever having an adult who cared solely for her, Leticia felt a little embarrassed every time she heard the nuance of that nickname.

“I’d really prefer if you didn’t call me that…”

Two pairs of eyes turned to Leticia. Avoiding their burdensome stares, she mumbled softly,
“I’m not a baby…”

Chamuka responded as if he had been waiting for this.
“Then what should I call you?”

Leticia hesitated. If she gave them her real name, what if they investigated and discovered there was no prince by that name?
“Just… Sion…”

“Is that really your name?”
“Yes.”

Astrid’s eyes narrowed.

Leticia’s response had been natural, but Astrid remembered the scenes she had glimpsed in Leticia’s subconscious.
Of course, Astrid wasn’t concerned about the child’s past; she was only interested in the present and future they would share.

“Your acting is natural, but the situation is unnatural, baby.”

Still, Astrid wanted to call the child by a name.

“How could someone so thin, timid, and kind be the beloved youngest son of the Emperor?”

Leticia had many things she wanted to say in response to Astrid’s comment.
At first, she had only pretended to be timid, but later, she had simply been trying to be considerate. She wasn’t cowed; she had just wanted to do well.

“….”

When Leticia remained silent, Astrid spoke again.
“Fine. You don’t have to tell me your real name. I wouldn’t care even if your past turned out to be that of the Emperor of the Herta Empire. So…”

“Just tell us a nickname or a pet name.”

Chamuka interrupted Astrid, whispering softly. Astrid grumbled.
“Why are you interrupting me, Chamuka?”

Ignoring her grumbling, Chamuka stared intently at Leticia.

“Whatever name you tell me, I won’t look into it. I’ll just tell others it’s a nickname I made up.”

“You should say it’s a nickname his teacher gave, not you. Why do you…”

“I’ve spent more time with the prince than you, Mother. And that baby—no, that child—is my inheritance, after all.”

“…?”

What kind of logic was this? Even Astrid, who was usually oblivious to subtleties, began to sense something strange.

My inheritance? What was he talking about? Referring to a person as if they were a house or an object? And what kind of ten-year-old talks about inheritance? What was he planning to do with an inheritance that was a child?

No, first of all, the baby belonged to Astrid. Not Basilinte.

Astrid didn’t care how much force or wealth Basilinte had expended to bring her beloved disciple here.

“Your father is still alive, you know?”
“And yet Grandfather is also alive, and Father is still the Grand Duke. Early inheritance is a tradition in Basilinte.”
“Don’t try to justify it. There’s no such tradition in Basilinte.”

Astrid’s teacher had refused to give her to someone without a title, which had led Ferik to disappear for several days before returning after inheriting the title of Gaien.

To this day, Astrid doesn’t know what happened during those days.

It was clear Gaien had no intention of passing down his title to his son at the time, so whatever Ferik had done remained a mystery.

In short, there was no such tradition of early inheritance in Basilinte.

“So, you’re nothing to the baby. The baby is my disciple, Chamuka.”

Leticia alternated her gaze between Astrid, who hugged her tightly as if to prove her point, and Chamuka, who looked at Astrid with a rebellious expression.

She started to understand why Hilda had said Chamuka seemed a little more human when Astrid was around.

It wasn’t because of any warm or sentimental meaning…

No, maybe Hilda saw it that way. She did seem almost entranced.

Astrid didn’t want her child to grow up like Ferik, so she often tried to provoke Chamuka’s emotions.

And this often took the form of teasing Chamuka.

From Leticia’s perspective, unaware of this dynamic, Chamuka seemed somewhat pitiful.

“My dear disciple, why don’t you whisper it so only I can hear? Or should I send Chamuka out so we can talk just the two of us? What should I call you, my dear disciple?”

The fact that Leticia didn’t get annoyed even in such situations made her seem emotionless.

Leticia, maintaining her expressionless face, glanced at Chamuka, whose subtle frustration was somehow visible.

She found it fascinating that she could read the slight changes in his otherwise blank expression.

In any case, both of them wanted to call her something. Not just anyone, but her.

Leticia Borba.

The name was given to her by Lord Borba after she had been cast out of the orphanage.

Though no noble recognized it, every orphan raised by Lord Borba carried the name Borba.

He had been a good man who didn’t deserve to die so young in that fire.

He had been a good father.

“Not having had any joy until now only means that there will be more joy to come in the future.”

Leticia’s name had been derived from an ancient word for “joy.”

It was an excessively luxurious name for an orphan picked up off the streets.

The Borba Theater Company had become Leticia’s family, starting with her father.

As long as that family was held hostage by the Herta Empire, Leticia would never be able to stop pretending to be the “Golden Prince”.

But… maybe this much was okay.

Eventually, Leticia’s lips moved.

Small, but loud enough for Astrid and even Chamuka to hear.

“Leti.”

Astrid rested her chin on Leticia’s head and wrapped her arms around her neck. At the moment Astrid’s lips parted to call her name, Chamuka instinctively opened his mouth and quickly repeated the name he had just heard.

“Leti.”

He didn’t know if it was a shortened version of her real name, a nickname, or a completely unrelated word.

But he wanted to be the first to call her. It felt like he had to.

***

After lunch, Astrid and Leticia had intended to move to the annex but ended up back in the Grand Duke’s bedroom due to the incomplete relocation.

They had planned to do some lessons, but the warm sunlight and full stomachs proved too much, and the teacher and disciple dozed off side by side.

Seizing the opportunity, the Grand Duke placed Astrid on the sofa and let her lean her head against him.

With Astrid on his right side and Leticia using his left thigh as a pillow, the Grand Duke seemed satisfied despite his expressionless face.

Chamuka, watching his father’s contented expression, slowly lowered his gaze to stare at his left hand.

The hand that, per Astrid’s orders, was clasped tightly with Leticia’s.

“Father.”
“Be quiet. What if they wake up?”
“Father, can’t you give me an early inheritance?”